Of his words of encouragement to Pogba he said: “I just kept it simple and said ‘this is what you are’ and ‘this is what you’re good at’,” he told Sky Sports. “But listened, he scored two goals so it’s not down to me.

“I’m glad I did [have an impact] because it shows little things do register with players.”

Carrick is set to take up a coaching role on Jose Mourinho's staff next season after finishing his storied playing career.

And he insists United can't feel sorry for themselves after seeing City claim the upper hand in recent years.

Michael Carrick with Victor Lindelof.

“It’s never going to go your way all the time, but it’s how you fight back that counts and that’s what we’ve got to do,” said Carrick. “That’s the only way to get back on top.

"When you have a setback, you’ve got to come back stronger. You can’t feel sorry for yourself and drift away. If that’s the case, this isn’t the place for you.

“But time can go quickly. It’s been five years since the last title, from winning it five times in seven years before that.

“That was a special period. We lost one title on goal difference and the other by a single point, so we could have been sitting here with even more.

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“Full credit to City, they’ve deserved to win the league this season. But we can only focus on ourselves and try to get better. There’s more to come from us.

“This year, points-wise, it’s not a disaster for us. We’re in second place, so we’re moving forward and we need to keep doing that.”

Carrick has launched the first project of his Michael Carrick Foundation, Street Reds.

Funded by the £1.5million raised from his testimonial, the project - based at Trafford Barn, near Old Trafford - puts on free coaching sessions for youngsters, with aim of teaching them life skills and giving them a sense of belonging.

“The whole reason for doing it was looking back and realising how lucky I was with the Wallsend Boys Club growing up in Newcastle,” said Carrick.

“I always thought I’d love to give something back and it’s exciting to be in a position to help kids and make a difference.

“I was happy and safe growing up and it’s scary to think how many young people there are out there who aren’t in that position.”